Storm: The Ones They Left Behind
by Cyri's Alter Ego
Summary: NOT a continuation of my Storm series, but you will need to have read them to understand this. Some cats never got their story told. Petalpaw? Whitefur? Rainstorm's siblings? All will be revealed...
1. Chapter One: Petalpaw

**Well, _hello_. The evil plot bunnies made me do it. My _Storm_ series, which are long-finished, apparantly needed this. A fanfic of my own fanfic, which makes roughly _zero_ sense, but still. It'll be about the lives of some of the forgotten, but intruiging, characters in _Storm_ and its sequels. **

**First up, we have the lovely Pinkpaw, who I renamed Petalpaw. If you remember, the sister of Bluepaw and daughter of Ashstar was just about dead the first time we met her. But here is her story. (And feel free to suggest the untold stories of characters in reviews).**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Warriors. Sueing people isn't nice :)**

Chapter One: Petalpaw

"That's not _fair_!"

Petalpaw winced as her brother's whining mew sliced the air.

"It is, though," she insisted. "We had a deal. Whoever could name all the warriors that were on the dawn patrol today gets to go hunting. You forgot Branchpaw. I _win_. I'll do the elders tomorrow."

"But you said the _warriors_ that were on the dawn patrol!" Bluepaw argued. "Branchpaw's not a warrior!"

"Even if that was true, I still got Dawnlight when you didn't. You've got elder duty, and _that's that_!"

"But-" Bluepaw began, but Petalpaw cut over him.

"_Stop_," she warned. "Plus, it was your fault that we _got_ elder duty for the whole _moon_ anyway!"

Bluepaw looked outraged. His tail lashed from side to side. "_My_ fault? How was it _my_ fault?"

"You had the idea to sneak out of camp!" accused his sister.

"Well, you went along with it!"

Petalpaw blinked. "You're _pushy_!" she protested. "I did say that we could have waited 'til Patchfur and Roseheart were back from patrol, but did you listen? And now even our father's angry with us!"

"Who cares about Ashstar?" muttered Bluepaw sulkily, eyes on his paws.

"_I_ do!" shot back Petalpaw shrilly. "He's our father, _and_ the Clan leader! _I _don't like it when Mistycloud won't even speak to us, and just fusses over Tawnykit and Nightkit!"

Bluepaw said nothing, but his eyes narrowed. Petalpaw thought that she knew what he was thinking. They were both secretly jealous of their younger brother and sister - though they shouldn't have been. Both Petalpaw and Bluepaw wanted the affection of their parents. The affection that Tawnykit and Nightkit always stole.

_Foxdung,_ thought Petalpaw bitterly. _Forget this. He can do what he wants to._

She stalked away from the shallow scoop in the ground that made the apprentices' den, and ignored Bluepaw when he curled up in his nest, looking angry and resentful, with his tail covering his nose.

Patchfur was waiting for her near the entrance to camp. Petalpaw greeted her mentor with a dip of her head, and the two of them headed out of camp.

But before they were out of earshot of camp, a yowl reached Petalpaw's ears - one that made dread, anger, regret, and hurt all surge through her at once.

"I wish that just _once_ you'd be nice to me!"

***

"Petalpaw!" shouted Patchfur in alarm.

The grey-furred apprentice looked up as the plump rabbit that she had been stalking darted away, startled.

"What was that for?" Petalpaw wouldn't have been so sharp with her mentor usually, but that rabbit would have been enough to feed almost all the apprentices - not to mention that she was in a very tetchy mood already.

"Th-there's..." stuttered Patchfur, his eyes stretched wide with fear.

Petalpaw didn't have time to turn around. All she felt was a pain down her flank, all the way from her neck to her tail. Flicking her head around, Petalpaw saw that a gaping gash had appeared there, staining her grey fur a bright red.

Gasping in agony, Petalpaw put a paw to the wound. She could feel it was deep, and it stung. It was gushing blood. Petalpaw winced. She didn't like blood at the best of times, and the sight of her blood pooling around her...

Whirling around, Petalpaw saw a narrow-snouted fox growling at her, yellowish teeth bared in a horrible snarl. Petalpaw was desperate to fight it, but she was beginning to feel a little woozy from all of the blood she had lost...

Patchfur was standing behind his apprentice, frozen.

"Patchfur!" coughed Petalpaw. "Help!"

These words seemed to break the daze around her mentor. He shook his head as though to clear it, bunched his muscles, and leaped at the fox.

But the fox had already had enough. Before Patchfur could reach it, it had turned tail and fled across the moor.

"Patchfur...?" murmured Petalpaw, sinking to a sitting position. Her legs had given way.

"Oh, StarClan help us!" Patchfur whispered, his eyes wide and scared.

***

"Featherpaw, fetch me more cobwebs!"

Petalpaw could identify Sunspot's mew, urgent and wan. The medicine cat... That meant that she must be back at camp... _When did I get there? _she wondered vaguely.

Patchfur was wailing, and Featherpaw was trying to comfort him.

She felt light, sticky material being applied to her fur. And there was something else... It felt like some cat's nose was being pushed into her pelt.

"Petalpaw..." murmured the shocked voice of her brother. "Oh, Petalpaw..."

_Bluepaw,_ Petalpaw thought. She tried to open her mouth and call to him, but her jaws refused to cooperate. Her breaths were getting shallower.

Bluepaw was whispering so quietly that no other cat would be likely to be able hear him.

"I'm sorry," Bluepaw whispered. "But... I was right."

He hesitated.

"I should have gone hunting after all."

**If you were wondering, and haven't seen the updated _Storm_... Petalpaw = Pinkpaw, and Patchfur = Barleypelt.**


	2. Chapter Two: Whitefur

**Thanks to xXHeart GoldXx, Darkness of the Eclipse, xXThunderspiritXx, Fioralba, and Alita Black for reviewing! It's nice to hear that people remember my _Storm_ series... ^_^**

**DISCLAIMER: I... =sniffs=... I don't own Warriors. ...That was hard for me to admit =sniffles=**

Chapter Two: Whitefur

_"Are you absolutely sure about this, Whitekit? After all, medicine cats can't take mates."_

The words of moons before echoed in Whitefur's ears as she fumbled with the tiny, pure white kit. It was horribly awkward - the RiverClan medicine cat didn't have the slightest clue how to hold her properly without dropping or hurting her.

She ended up imitating how Mossears always held her daughter, Leopardkit - by the scruff. But since Whitefur was afraid of breaking her kit's skin, the silky fur ended up slipping out of her jaws.

"Oh, StarClan!" groaned Whitefur, agonised. "I'm so sorry!"

She opened her mouth to try and pick up the kit again, but as she did, a soft milk-smell hit her scent glands.

_Foxdung... now I smell like the queens,_ she hissed internally. She pawed hurriedly through the fragnant heap of herbs beside her, that she had brought along. "Parsley..." she murmured, feeling slightly frazzled. "Where's the parsley...?"

She meant to eat the soft-fronded herb at once, and stop her milk, but something held her back. She gazed down at her helpless, squirming kit. She was blindly mewling, and Whitefur knew instinctively that she wanted her mother's milk.

If she had been stronger, she would have refused. But then again, if she had been stronger, this trouble never would have started in the first place. "Just once," Whitefur murmured, relenting and allowing her kit to suckle. Her fur tingled with compassion.

_I only want my kit to myself for one or two heartbeats... Is that so awful?_

_***_

It wasn't even an exciting, daring romance like those the elders spoke of - gravely, as though they were terrible deeds to be hushed up. But Whitefur - Whitepaw back then - had always been intrigued by these stories of love battling loyalty. Although she knew it was wrong, that she only felt at home among herbs and that she _needed_ to be a medicine cat, she often daydreamed about how wonderfully _rebellious_ it would feel to fall in love.

But that was all they were - idle daydreams. For all of her zoning out about running away with that special tom, it didn't stop her heart racing and her breath catching in her throat when it really happened.

"I love you, Whitefur!" Tornclaw cried in a desperate whisper. "I can't _be_ without you!"

It was a shock, to say the least. Whitefur couldn't speak for several heartbeats. She had never considered _Tornclaw_ as a love interest. Tornclaw was just... Well, he was just Tornclaw. He was nothing particularly special - he was friendly, he never ate before the Clan was fed, and he behaved himself at Gatherings. He wasn't _exactly_ Whitefur's bold, gallant fantasy.

But Tornclaw wouldn't take no for an answer. He followed Whitefur everywhere he could without arousing suspicion from other members of the Clan. And no matter how much Whitefur tried to shake him off - she was much too polite, and scared, to tell him to leave her alone outright - he latched himself to her like a burr.

When Whitefur discovered that she was expecting kits, she wanted to yowl out in misery and dismay. She blamed herself for not being brave enough to turn Tornclaw off while she had the chance - nip this one-sided relationship in the bud.

But now there were innocent kits involved.

***

Whitefur placed the kit a small way out of camp. It mewled pitifully, and Whitefur's heart wrenched. But she needed to do what was right.

She hurried back to camp, tripping and stumbling. She had to fetch Tornclaw, _now_. The kit, young as it was, wouldn't survive long in the wild, alone.

"Whitefur!"

The medicine cat's head snapped up. For the first time in her life, she was relieved to see Tornclaw.

"It's the kits, isn't it?" he hissed urgently. "I saw you leave, and I knew it."

Whitefur gave a sharp nod. "One," she meowed, her mew rough from running. "A little she-cat. She's back there," she went on, flicking her tail in the direction she had come from, "you have to find her."

Tornclaw's whiskers twitched. "Right," he agreed. As she always did, Tornclaw stiffened as he licked the top of her head. "Love you."

And he was gone.

***

Whitefur thanked StarClan that Tornclaw bought her enough time for her to return to her den. She was able to stay there a while, so there was no way her Clanmates could have connected her with Tornclaw's reappearance.

But it was still hard when he burst into camp, their kit dangling from his jaws. Whitefur's motherly instinct screamed at her to race forward and snatch her kit away from him. She looked so _uncomfortable_...

"Tornclaw!" Bramblestar leaped down from his den and stared hard at the kit. "What is this?"

"It's a kit!" Tornclaw looked convincingly bewildered. "I found her just outside of camp..."

"Set her down," ordered Bramblestar, his face betraying puzzlement. Tornclaw obeyed him. The little she-kit writhed around helplessly, wanting milk.

Half the Clan were gathered around now.

Hawkfire, one of the queens, shrieked when she saw the kit. She darted forward, covering Whitefur's daughter in licks. Whitefur stifled a growl in her throat. _What's wrong with you? _she scolded herself silently.

"Bramblestar!" Hawkfire gasped.

And then Whitefur had to do the whole 'medicine cat' bit.

"She only looks about an hour old," she meowed, making a big show of sniffing the kit so that the gathered cats wouldn't notice that increase in volume of the kit's mews.

"What mother would abandon her newborn kit?" Hawkfire fretted.

"Maybe a rogue, or a Twoleg?" Whitefur forced the words out of her jaws. "Or perhaps a badger killed the mother." She turned to Bramblestar. "She'll be fine with some milk."

"Good." Bramblestar nodded. "Hawkfire, would you...?"

"I'll raise her as though she were my own," vowed the ginger queen.

"Will she join the Clan?" piped up Sandpaw.

"I don't see any reason why she shouldn't," shrugged Bramblestar. "She may be a rogue kit, but she can easily learn Clan ways. As you said, Whitefur, she is incredibly young."

He dipped his head to Whitefur and turned to his Clan, who were murmuring their agreement.

"Then, she will be named Icekit," declared Bramblestar, "in honour of her pelt." He touched his muzzle to her delicate head.

At that point, Whitefur had to leave. Accident or not, Icekit _was_ her kit, and seeing some other cat name her was... nearly unbearable.

_What mother would abandon her newborn kit?_


	3. Chapter Three: Roseheart

**Much apologies for the rubbishness of my updating skills! Internet was down for, like, _ever_, it seemed. And if you checked my profile (ha ha... like anyone follows me THAT closely...) you'll know that I'm doing Script Frenzy and that I was editing all my Storm series and that (which are now DONE ^_^). Thanks to xXThunderspiritXx, Rainstorm-Mosspath, Rippleth, Darkness of the Eclipse, Fioralba, and WinterSky101 for reviewing! **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Warriors. =shakes head sadly=**

Chapter Three: Roseheart

The tip of my tail twitched as I stared at the black kittypet standing on the Tallrock. She looked terrified, but not as much of a kittypet as I would have...

I noted her sturdy frame, her apprentice-powerful back legs, and her feral, wild eyes. Her eyes. Her bright yellow eyes, that reminded me of a cat that I swore that I should forget.

"_Silence_!" Ashstar was spitting, over the heavy murmuring of the rest of the Clan - mostly from Tigerface and Patchfur, I noticed. "I cannot deny that this is – or was – a kittypet. But it is not what you think. Sit down, Tigerface, Patchfur. You too, Cinderpaw."

The two warriors and apprentice dropped their hackles, scowling darkly.

"Now," Ashstar hissed, "are you quite finished?" The Clan leader looked around as though daring some cat to contradict him. When no cat moved, he mewed, "You all remember Stormcloud, one of our warriors? Last newleaf, she was captured by Twolegs."

My jaw dropped open in shock. _Stormcloud_...

Of course I remembered. How could I forget? The pain of it still hurt me, sometimes... So much that I had wanted to claw those Twolegs to shreds and leave them bleeding their lives awa. I would have done, too, if Mayflower hadn't stopped me.

_Mayflower... think of Mayflower..._ I urged myself. _Not Stormcloud... it's too _painful_..._

Dawnlight nudged me. "Something wrong, Roseheart?" she whispered, concern in her blue eyes.

"No." I tried to pass my shudder off as a shake of my head. "No, everything's fine."

"I remember that!" Shadefrost was nodding reminiscently. "She was a queen in the nursery at the time. Three kits, if I'm not mistaken. Not even old enough to open their eyes."

_Shut up, shut up, shut up!_ I wanted to yowl the words in the elder's face. Wasn't it bad enough that I had had to endure the unbearable agony of losing my beloved mate and three beautiful kits once, without the whole Clan bringing it up about seven moons later, when I was only just beginning to get over it and choose a new mate for myself?

_Stormcloud, Breezekit, Rainkit, Mousekit. _Their names had been like a mantra to me over the last seven moons; chanting them in my head seemed to lessen the hurt slightly. _Stormcloud, Breezekit, Rainkit, Mousekit._

But Ashstar was nodding - he seemed to have no intention of dropping the subject. "Yes. The Twolegs wanted to make Stormcloud and her kits into a kittypet. They did, too. In fact, two of the kits were lost."

"No!" I burst out, unable to hold in my emotion any longer. _Lost_? But surely that meant... "But what about the third?" I was aware of how desperate I sounded, and also of how many cats were staring at me curiously - after all, only a few cats had known that I was the father of Stormclouds' kits.

"Roseheart, your question is justified." Ashstar nodded, glancing at the black kittypet. "That kit… that kit is standing here next to me."

The eyes of every cat fell upon the young kittypet.

Roseheart couldn't think. _That kit? My... my kit? _His eyes were round with wonder. Underneath the kittypet scent... definitely... it was there... The soft scent of Stormcloud. It was her. Really, it was.

"Rain... Rainkit?" I breathed, my mouth dry.

Rainkit scuffed her paws on the Tallrock and lowered her eyes, looking embarrassed to have the gaze of every cat upon her.

"I don't believe it," Tigerface said bluntly, shocking Roseheart back to reality. "Stormcloud would never have been soft enough to become a kittypet."

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to agree, desperately. I didn't _want _my mate to be known as a helpless kittypet. But yet... Here was one of my kits. She was back. _It's truly a StarClan-send._

"Cats of WindClan, this cat has every right to ask for a place in WindClan!" Ashstar was yowling now. "Do we deny the Clan a strong warrior? You cannot deny, at least, that Stormcloud was a respectable warrior!"

Roseheart was hardly listening as Ashstar's words won the Clan over.

_Stormcloud..._

_A warm, milk-scented den... the sound of newborn mewling..._

_Roseheart pushed his way into the den, feeling frazzled._

_"Can I see her? Can I? Please?" he begged._

_Sunpaw nodded. "Willowheart said it was okay. She wanted to see you."_

_"Is she...?"_

_"She's fine," the medicine cat apprentice confirmed, with a nod. Roseheart was already gone, stepping as swiftly and quietly as he dared._

_He glanced around the den, missing Sunfire and her one-moon-old kits, Greenkit and Branchkit. His eyes fell on the heavily pregnant Mistycloud, but he tore them away. _Come on... where are they...?

_And then he saw them._

_"Stormcloud," he breathed._

_Stormcloud purred, licking each of the furry bundles between their tiny ears. There was one pure white, one pure black, and one brown tabby._

_"Their names are Breezekit-" she gestured towards the white she-kit, "Mousekit-" the brown tabby tom, "and Rainkit." That was the black she-kit._

_Roseheart let out a trembling breath. "They're..."_

"...beautiful..." whispered Roseheart, still gazing up at the Tallrock. "My Rainkit is back."


	4. Chapter Four: Robinpaw

**Thanks to xXShattered PeaceXx, xXThunderspiritXx, WinterSky101, and Darkness of the Eclipse for reviewing! I should be Script Frenzying... But I'm slacking off to write this. =shifty eyes= Feel honoured ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: _©2003-2010 by Erin Hunter. All rights reserved. Distribution of any kind is prohibited without consent of creator. _...How professional do I sound?**

Chapter Four: Robinpaw

Robinpaw blinked, feeling rather groggy. What was going on? The last thing that he remembered was that eagle...

"Copperpaw?" he called out. He sniffed. He couldn't scent his sister at all. And that scent of RiverClan... It was odd, but Robinpaw fancied that it smelled different. Still _RiverClan_, but... there was no cat-scent that he recognised.

He rose to his paws, swaying slightly. He wondered if he had been unconscious for long. There didn't seem to be any other cats about. Robinpaw felt a little indignant. Had Copperpaw, Duskfur, and Pinefur just run off, leaving him?

_They could have at least taken me with them... _he smarted.

He sighed. His head was still pouding where the eagle's claw had made contact with it. Maybe he should just go back to camp... But something stopped him. The aura around him was _different_. Robinpaw opened his mouth, trying not to feel creeped out. He stepped backwards, and let out a yelp of surprise.

He had stepped onto something soft and furry. Robinpaw leaped around to see that it was a cat - a _dead_ cat.

She looked about his age - a tortoiseshell she-cat. Robinpaw gave her a tentative sniff, and realised that she hadn't been dead five minutes.

Robinpaw felt horrified. This _rogue_ (at least, that was what Robinpaw assumed she was... she smelled oddly familiar) on his territory, killed a few heartbeats ago!

He started to shake. There was definitely something not quite right here. If something had killed this she-cat, why hadn't they gone for him, too? After all, he had been unconscious - the perfect target. And Robinpaw wasn't entirely convinced that she _was_ a rogue - in fact, there was a scent of...

"RiverClan," Robinpaw whispered hoarsely, stiffening.

The tortoiseshell-and-white tom began to panic. _StarClan help me!_ he prayed fervently. He gave the she-cat's body another tentative sniff. Yes, the fishy scent of RiverClan was definitely there. And she certainly wasn't breathing.

Feeling a little revolted, Robinpaw leaned closer to inspect her body. It bore no clawmarks, nor could he smell sickness in the air. Puzzled, Robinpaw took a couple of pawsteps backwards. The she-cat seemed to be in perfect health.

Suddenly, Robinpaw felt frightened. He was stuck in some alternate universe, with a dead but seemingly healthy RiverClan she-apprentice.

_Dead..._ Robinpaw's fur prickled. He hadn't thought of that possibility. Had the eagle's claws struck enough of a blow to actually _kill_ him?

"StarClan?" Robinpaw whispered. _Now, let's see... What's meant to happen when you join StarClan? _He strained to remember. _Aren't cats supposed to swarm you, mewing 'peace, dear one'? And aren't you supposed to feel as light as air, and feel stars in your fur?_

Well, that certainly didn't fit. Robinpaw felt distinctly groggy and rather battered, and his fur felt like it was dragging him down. He turned to inspect his back. It looked very solid; not at all transparent, shimmery and starry.

Robinpaw was slightly relieved, but at the same time, his confusion returned. If he wasn't dead, then what _had_ happened to him?

"Copperpaw?" he mewed loudly. No answer. Robinpaw suddenly became aware that it was starting to get dark. He forced his fur to lie flat as a chill breeze reached him from across the lake.

The she-cat's body was starting to scare him slightly. It looked kind of malevolent, blank eyes gleaming in the half light-

_Stop it, _he told himself severely, as a shudder ran down his spine. There was no use creeping himself out.

All the same... Those _eyes_...

Robinpaw took a step backwards. A twig snapped under his paw and he jumped. He allowed himself an amused twitch of his whiskers - that sort of thing always happened in the most cliché of elders' tales.

His humour vanished in a heartbeat as he heard the mewing of cats' voices. Robinpaw's ears pricked up, and his nose twitched as he recognised the RiverClan scent. Besides, the cats weren't acting cautious or bothering to keep their voices low - they were clearly safe in their own territory. _Is this perhaps the evening patrol?_

A brownish-grey tom was at the head of the patrol, followed by a grey she-cat, a silver she-cat, a slim tortoiseshell, a golden brown tom, and two smaller, brown toms that looked like apprentices, so alike they must have been brothers. All seven carried an unmistakeable RiverClan scent.

The brownish-grey tom's amber eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Robinpaw.

"Here! Silverblaze, _hurry_!"

The patrol of cats hurried over to Robinpaw, who was rooted to the spot with fear.

"Robinpaw!" the brownish-grey tom's mew was rough. "Where have you _been_?"

Robinpaw opened and closed his mouth like a fish. How did these strange cats know his name?

"Spottedpaw!" howled one of the apprentices, dashing past Robinpaw and burying his nose in the dead tortoiseshell's fur. The other apprentice's amber eyes widened.

"StarClan, no!" he murmured, hurrying to join his brother. The silver she-cat and tortoiseshell tom glanced at each other, and then followed suit.

The golden-brown tom remained glaring at Robinpaw. "What happened to her?" he barked.

Robinpaw cowered under his glare. "It was the eagle!" he blurted out, mewing the first thing that came to his jaws. He knew that this could be disproved in an instant because of Spottedpaw's lack of scars, but if he kept them talking for long enough...

"Then why didn't you bring her back to camp?" The grey she-cat's brow furrowed in confusion.

"I... I... I wasn't sure whether she was still alive." Robinpaw stumbled over his words. "I thought it was best not to move her..."

The golden-brown tom still eyed him suspiciously, but the brownish-grey tom nudged him.

"Go easy on him, Thornfoot," he murmured. "Robinpaw's just had a great shock."

Thornfoot dipped his head, though he still looked dubious. "Yes, Brackentail."

"Are you hurt?" Brackentail asked, concern sparking in his eyes.

Robinpaw shook his head. _These cats obviously respect Brackentail... Perhaps he's the deputy..._ "Where's my sister?" Robinpaw asked tentatively. "I want to see her."

The grey she-cat glanced at Thornfoot, looking surprised. "Brightpaw? Well, she's back at camp... But why do you-"

"Shh, Dawnflower," murmured Brackentail, staring hard at Robinpaw.

_Brightpaw?_ Robinpaw howled internally. _No! I want _Copperpaw_!_

To his horror, he found these very words leaving his mouth.

Now every cat looked confused.

"Who's Copperpaw?"

Robinpaw could see their alarm. He knew that they could smell his fear-scent, but he didn't care. He was close to hyperventilating with the sheer enormity of what was happening to him, and on top of this, he could sense that he really needed to cough up a furball at some point soon.

But then, suddenly, as though on a signal, Robinpaw collapsed in a dead faint.

***

"Robinpaw?"

Robinpaw wanted to move, but he felt like he was battling a huge wave... a pinprick of happiness pierced him as he recognised the voice.

"M-Minnowpaw..." he muttered.

"Robinpaw, are you awake?" Minnowpaw's voice sounded distant and hazy. "We... Don't you want to see the burial...?"

"Burial?" Robinpaw's mind seemed to be working at half the speed it usually did. "Burial...?"

Minnowpaw sounded as though she regretted having to tell him. "The burial, Robinpaw. C-Copperpaw's burial."

"Copperpaw?" Something inside Robinpaw was telling him that this was bad, very bad. Copperpaw... Copperpaw... his _sister_...

"Y-yes, Copperpaw. Don't you remember, Robinpaw? S-she's... Copperpaw... died."


	5. Chapter Five: Silverblaze

**Thanks to Darkness of the Eclipse, WinterSky101, and Lord Kelvin for reviewing. Now, if I remember rightly, Silverblaze was _actually_ a character that I put in the story on request of one of my reviewers. I can't remember who it was, but she became quite an important RiverClan cat; she was Foxpaw's brother, she mentored Rockclaw, and after Bramblestar and Rainfur died, eventually became RiverClan's deputy. _And_ she now has a chapter in _Storm: The Ones They Left Behind_ all to herself!**

**DISCLAIMER: I am on Fanfiction, no.**

Chapter Five: Silverblaze

"I'm sorry, Foxpaw, but this just isn't good enough." Tornclaw turned over his apprentice's meagre catch - one tiny fish - with a forepaw.

Face falling, Foxpaw asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'm afraid that I can't allow you to take on the responsibilities of a warrior if _this_ is all you can bring home to feed the Clan." Tornclaw's mew was gentle, but Foxpaw's eyes blazed with a sudden anger.

"It's the middle of leafbare!" the creamy brown apprentice protested, gesturing with a sweep of his tail towards the reedy, pebbly landscape, which was still and glistening with a coating of frost.

"Your sister managed well enough."

Silverpaw winced as her mentor, Greywhisker, dragged her into the argument. She now felt embarrassed that she had managed to snag two water voles as well as a couple of fish with a few decent mouthfuls on their bones. It was true that Foxpaw's kill looked puny next to pile of prey; still, there was no reason for Greywhisker to have gone out of his way to point it out.

Looking down at her paws as Foxpaw shot her a hard glare, Silverpaw muttered, "I think that maybe Greywhisker just sent me to a better hunting ground."

"Nonsense." Her mentor's mew was brisk. Silverpaw chanced a glance up - Foxpaw was glowering at his fish, as though it was the prey's fault that he wouldn't earn full warrior status. "I'll speak to Bramblestar about your warrior ceremony." Greywhisker glanced up at the sky; it was cloudless but frosty, and the sun shone weakly from its high vantage point. "It's just past sunhigh now. If we hurry, you'll have your new name by sunset."

For a heartbeat, the silver apprentice felt elated. A real warrior! Her! Going on patrols, sleeping in the warriors' den, not having to listen to a mentor anymore... Maybe even _being_ a mentor. Silverpaw's amber eyes sparkled - but her joy fizzled out in a heartbeat as she caught sight of her brother's expression. "Um..." she mumbled awkwardly, scuffing her paws. "Maybe I should wait a while."

Tornclaw repeated Greywhisker's words. "Nonsense. Just because Foxpaw failed this assessment... It shouldn't stop _you_ from becoming a warrior, Silverpaw."

Not missing Foxpaw's brooding silence, Silverpaw meowed desperately, "But what about my brother?"

Both of the older cats exchanged a glance that told Silverpaw everything. "I think that my apprentice will have to wait a little longer." Tornclaw's mew hardened slightly, as though part of him was resentful that _his_ apprentice hadn't made it. _But it's you that's withholding it, isn't it?_ Silverpaw questioned the white tom silently.

"But that's not fair!" she argued. Glancing at her brother again, a thorn-sharp pang of sorrow pierced Silverpaw's heart as he averted her eyes. Longing to win back his friendship, Silverpaw hurried on, "If this goes on, Wildpaw will be a warrior before h- us!" She changed the singular to a plural at the last heartbeat, hopeful that that might soften Foxpaw slightly.

"Don't be mousebrained." Silverpaw flinched at her mentor's sharpened tone. "You passed, Silverpaw, and Foxpaw didn't. That's all there is to it. You _will_ become a warrior tonight, if I have to conduct the ceremony myself." Greywhisker snatched up Silverpaw's two water voles and stalked noisily back to camp, the frost-glazed pebbles crunching under his heavy pawsteps.

Looking worried, Tornclaw muttered, "Great StarClan... he'll scare all the prey from here to the Moonpool." He gave both apprentices a fleeting look. "If you're going to be out for much longer, be back by sunset, okay? You wouldn't want to miss..." He left the sentence hanging uneasily before ducking his head embarrassedly and racing after his friend.

Silverpaw glanced at her brother for reassurance, but was shocked when she saw that he was giving her a filthy glare. "Thanks, Silverpaw... For _nothing_," he hissed. Silverpaw's jaw dropped at his lack of gratitude, but before she could mew another word, Foxpaw had imitated Greywhisker; seizing his fresh-kill in his jaws, he angrily stormed away in the direction of the two mentors.

***

Even though Foxpaw was sitting on the furthest possible edge of the group of assembled cats, refusing to look at her, Silverpaw couldn't suppress a shiver of excitement going up her spine as she stood before Bramblestar.

"I, Bramblestar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn," the RiverClan leader rumbled out. He fixed Silverpaw with a steely orange eye. "Silverpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Silverpaw shot a glance at her brother. Her stomach lurched with hurt as she saw that he had left, and had buried his head in his paws in the apprentice den. She suddenly felt such a traitor for doing this to him. _What if I simply refuse to say the words? _she thought. But then she looked down at the rest of the Clan; her mother, her mentor... All waiting for her to commit to the Clan.

They tumbled out of her jaws in a rush. "I do."

Looking a little puzzled at her hesitancy, Bramblestar went on, "Then, by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Silverpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Silverblaze. StarClan honours your bravery and your swiftness and we welcome you as a full warrior of RiverClan."

As Bramblestar rested his muzzle on Silverblaze's head, the newly named warrior felt a rush of pride hearing her Clan call out her name.

"Silverblaze! Silverblaze! Silverblaze!" Greywhisker was at the head of the chant, eyes shining.

Respectfully licking Bramblestar's shoulder, Silverblaze turned cautiously, wondering whether Foxpaw would have had the decency to call out her warrior name, too.

But Foxpaw was still in the apprentices' den, feigning sleep. Silverblaze felt a burning anger in the pit of her belly. This _wasn't her fault_.

She was hardly listening as Bramblestar announced that she would have to keep watch in her silent vigil that night. Silverblaze's eyes narrowed into slits. She was a warrior now. She had no need to go trailing after her brother.

Letting out a non-committal grunt, Silverblaze turned back to Bramblestar. As far as she was concerned, Foxpaw could do what he liked.


	6. Chapter Six: Moon That Shines on Cavetop

**Thanks to xXShattered PeaceXx, (who, I have now discovered, was Silverblaze's creator ^_^) WinterSky101, and Darkness of the Eclipse for reviewing! You all remember Moon, right? The Tribe to-be who was Flight/Heronflight's brother? Well, when Flight went missing from the Tribe... Yeah. Read for yourself.**

**DISCLAIMER: Maybe you, not me. Probably _not_ you either.**

Chapter Six: Moon That Shines On Cavetop

Paws pounded on hard rock as the same name was yowled again and again by different cats. These cats usually knew to be careful of speaking too loudly and causing a rockfall, but when a young to-be had gone missing, it was another matter altogether.

"Flight! Flight, where are you?"

A young, light brown tom stuck his muzzle out from behind the waterfall, flattening his ears against his head at the noise of the tumbling water. His paws kneaded impatiently on the hard ground, waiting for the moment when the patrol got back and brought news of his sister.

"Moon?"

The tom jumped and spun around to see that a white tom with a black stripe running down his back was the cat that had spoken - clearly loudly, to have got past the sound of the waterfall.

"What do you want, Flash?" Moon asked irritably, referring to his fellow to-be. "Can't you see that I am _busy_?"

Flash's eyes hardened. "It looks more like you're just waiting," he replied coolly, flicking his tail towards the waterfall. "Mouse told me that the prey-hunters won't be back until after sunhigh. They have to renew the scent markers and gather some caught-prey as well as search for your Flight. You're wasting your time just sitting there."

Moon stiffened at the mention of his mother. Mouse had been infuriatingly calm about the situation that her daughter had disappeared, drawing a paw over her ear and stating that Flight was sharp-witted, and that she would be safe.

It was also annoying to Moon that Flight had simply melted out of the Tribe like she had never been there at all. _Your Flight_. Flash's words rang in Moon's ears. He shuddered. No - he would find his sister and bring her home... _If she's still alive,_ mewed a small, nasty voice inside him.

Staring at the waterfall blankly as Flash padded away, giving up, Moon vowed that if Flight was dead, he would flay the creature that had caused it. And, actually, he already had a shrewd idea. Forget eagles, hawks, and anything else like that; Moon was certain that Flight had more sense than a newborn, even if she didn't show it sometimes. No, Moon's view was locked into his head with a certainty that not even the Tribe of Endless Hunting could shake.

Frostpaw.

From the word 'go', Moon hadn't trusted the creamy brown tom. He was so... so... _different_. A strange, menacing presence in the lifestyles of the whole Tribe - except for Stoneteller, who had seemed to open the apprentice with open paws. Moon knew that many cats hadn't been so sure, and now...

One day, Frostpaw and Flight had been there, the next, they were gone. It didn't take an omen from the Tribe of Endless Hunting to put two and two together. Moon was just surprised that no other cat had seen it.

Starting to pace, his pawsteps light and rapid, Moon realised that he needed to feel like he had a destination. He wouldn't be happy unless he was out there actually _looking_ for Flight himself.

Maybe he should go now. But he was no cave-guard to-be... His slim, prey-hunter's body wouldn't be useless against a predetor, but he would definitely be less vulnerable with a cave-guard. Moon blinked. He couldn't ask one of the older cave-guards; they would panic, lecture him about the danger and then tell Stoneteller. His only chance would be maybe his fellow to-be Star That Glimmers in the Night, or-

_Oh. _Moon's ear twitched as he realised who the only other cave-guard to-be had been. _Flight. _

In a heartbeat, his mind was made up. Moon would do this alone. He didn't need another cat to help him. He would be fine, he told himself, perfectly fine...

As he slipped quietly out of the Cave of Rushing Water, the waterfall seemed to hiss it at him.

_Alone._

***

One of the worst things about living in the mountains was how it dulled Moon's smell-scent. The hard, unyielding rock refused to let him catch even a whiff of Flight's scent trail, even when he literally pressed his nose to the mountainside in despair.

"Flight, where are you?" Moon whispered. The words billowed out in clouds in the cold mountain air.

Usually, Flight's scent was easy for him to pick up; it the scent of his birth sister, who he had suckled beside, after all. It should have been easier still with the scent of a foreign cat added. Moon couldn't understand it. Either his nose was being oddly dysfunctional that day, or...

A chilling thought struck the Tribe to-be with a pang. _What if they don't want to be found?_

He was surprised at how much the thought hurt. Flight _had_ been spending a lot of time with Frostpaw recently... Maybe... Moon unsheathed his claws and scraped them across the rocky ground, pained. Flight and Moon were brother and sister; growing up as kits and then being made to-be's together... Did all that mean _nothing _to Flight? The closeness of kin... snatched away in a heartbeat? Was that what it meant to her?

Screwing up his eyes in grief and agony, Moon howled at the top of his voice, "Why, Flight?"

"Moon?"

Again, Moon whirled around at the surprised mew. Four cats stood before him, heads cocked in confusion. Moon recognised a black and white pelt under the streaks of mud. It was Dew on Frosted Leaf, one of the party sent out to search for Flight. Moon's eyes roved over the other three cats - yes, a tortoiseshell pelt, streaks of brown fur, and a tawny brown tom. It _was _the patrol that were meant to be looking for Flight... and yet... Moon's eyes grew round with anger as he scented caught-prey on the four of them. They had been _hunting_?

"What about my sister?" he hissed, rage overpowering him. He knew that he would be in serious trouble later for leaving the Cave of Rushing Water without a qualified cave-guard or prey-hunter, and probably for forgetting to camoflage himself with mud, too, but at that particular heartbeat, he only cared about Flight. "Why haven't you been looking for her?" Raw grief entered his mew, and he fought to keep his voice level.

He caught a glimpse of tortoiseshell fur dart forward. Blossom Near Swift Stream. "We _have_ been looking," she mewed, dark blue eyes pools of sadness. "I'm afraid... She's nowhere to be found."

"Then look harder!" Moon refused to believe that his Tribe could just give up like this.

The four cats did not object to being ordered around by a to-be. The tawny-brown prey-hunter, Owl Who Hunts at Night, mewed, "Moon... I'm sorry. She... we found... eagle feathers." His mew faltered. He flicked his tail to Dew, who dropped a couple of bronze feathers at Moon's paws.

The Tribe to-be didn't bother to hold in his wail of grief.

Staining the feathers were splashes of scarlet blood. Blood, carrying Flight's scent.

**Aww. Poor Moon. It's sad that he didn't know what really happened - Flight and Frostpaw, fleeing the Tribe, caught the bird so that they could eat. Not the other way around. =hugs Moon=**


	7. Chapter Seven: Breezekit

**Thanks to xXShattered PeaceXx and WinterSky101 for reviewing! In case you haven't seen it on my profile already, here's a brief rundown; Breezekit is Rainstorm's sister. Max is her brother, that kittypet that they met near the end of _Storm_, and she also had this sister. A white she-cat with blue eyes. And if I say this... white cat, blue eyes... _Snowkit_. Get it yet? If not... you will.**

**And listen... I know they're a little older than they're meant to be, but just go with it, okay? Please?**

**DISCLAIMER: I only own Warriors in my dreams...**

Chapter Seven: Breezekit

_Breezekit._

The first thing I recognised. Whenever my mother wanted me to come to her, she'd beckon with her tail, and her lips would shape that word. _Breezekit_. The black she-kit beside her - when our mother wanted her, it was the same. A beckon with the tail, but a different word on her lips. _Rainkit_. And when it was the tabby tom - a beckon with the tail, and I could see the word _Mousekit_.

Over time, I understood. Breezekit was my name. What other cats recognised me by, as well as my fluffy white pelt. Rainkit was the black she-kit's name, and Mousekit was the tabby tom's name. Rainkit was my sister, Mousekit was my brother, and our mother... It took a while, but I eventually saw other cats mouthing _Stormcloud_ at her.

Names always took a while. I had to look at the mouth of every cat very closely, and repeat the shape to myself over and over, before I understood. _Roseheart_. A grey tom who my mother liked a lot. He sometimes came to visit us. _Ashstar_. A grey warrior with lots of stripes. I could tell he was very important, by the way other cats bowed their heads to him.

Often, I didn't understand what other cats were saying to me, or each other. Their lips formed different shapes so quickly, in such a rush... I wondered how the other cats had learned to read them so fast. _Maybe it'll just take time..._

But when I watched Rainkit and Mousekit playing, I didn't get it. Rainkit was facing the opposite direction, and then Mousekit jumped on her... But, as if there was another signal which I couldn't see, somehow Rainkit _knew_ that Mousekit was coming, turned around, and dodged the attack. I couldn't fathom it.

One day, though, I understood. Finally, it made itself clear to me.

Rainkit and another, older kit, who I knew was called Branchkit, were play-fighting. Branchkit bowled over my sister... and pinned her ears to the side of her head with his paws. By this point, I had got a little better at lip-reading, and I could see that Branchkit had mouthed, _I've got you now, Rainkit! _Rainkit mouthed back, _Stop it, Branchkit! I can't hear! I can't hear!_

_Hear._ The word was new to me. _What does it mean?_ I wondered. _Is it something to do with your ears? Is Branchkit blocking Rainkit from..._ hearing_?_ I twitched my own ear, suddenly feeling left out. Why couldn't _I_ do this _hearing_ thing that seemingly every other cat could? Was I stupid? Was it something I was meant to have learned by myself? Suddenly, I felt afraid.

I decided that I needed to see the medicine cat. Willowheart, I thought her name was, and her apprentice Sunpaw.

_Willowheart? _My mouth shaped the word as I padded cautiously towards the medicine cats' den. I had already discovered that other cats didn't seem to comprehend what I was mouthing unless I felt a kind of buzzy feeling in my throat, so I always mouthed and made this buzzy, droning feeling. _Willowheart?_

The tortoiseshell medicine cat squeezed herself out of her den, looking confused at seeing me. I quickly caught her lips shape the words, _Breezekit? What's wrong?_

I had never managed to get the hang of doing the droning thing and shaping the words at the same time, so often I felt a little out of control of my mouthing, but I had a go. _Willowheart, what's hearing?_

Willowheart looked a little startled by the question, but she responded promptly. _Why, Breezekit, hearing is what you use your ears for. Sound. It's what you're doing right now, hearing my voice. And if you listen closely, you can hear your brother and sister playing in the nursery._

It had taken a little bit of work for me to have picked up everything, but a fluttery feeling of panic had now settled in my belly. _What do you mean? I didn't know that Mousekit and Rainkit were playing at all! And what's a 'voice'? Is it when you watch what someone's shaping their mouth to say?_

The medicine cat was starting to look a little worried now. _Can't you hear what I'm saying, Breezekit? _she mouthed.

_No, _I shaped forcefully, _I don't know what hearing is!_

Sweeping her tail around my shoulders, Willowheart shaped, _Come into my den, Breezekit. I think I know what's going on._

Flicking my ear self-consciously, I followed Willowheart into her herb-scented den. Her golden-furred apprentice, Sunpaw, was there, sorting herbs. She mouthed something to Willowheart which I didn't catch, and Willowheart gave a sharp nod and swiftly dismissed her. Sunpaw left the den, casting me a curious look.

Willowheart sat down and wrapped her tail around her paws. Shaping her words more slowly than I was used to - which I had to admit was a relief - she mouthed, _Breezekit, I notice that you look at cats' mouths when they speak, instead of their faces, like other cats._

_Well, I've got to,_ I shaped, feeling a little overwhelmed. I didn't normally mouth this much in one day; it was hard work. _Otherwise I won't know what they're mouthing._

Blinking slowly, Willowheart mouthed, _Breezekit... Usually, cats can _hear_ what other cats are saying._

Feeling panicky, I mouthed, _So why can't I?_

Sadness filled Willowheart's eyes as she shaped her next words. _I think that... I think that you're deaf, Breezekit. You can't hear._

I felt dizzy. _Deaf?_ I didn't even bother shaping the word with my mouth.

But Willowheart's next shaped words left me reeling. _I'm afraid that you can't be a warrior._

Mouthing nothing, I felt my legs give way. I sank to a sitting position. _Oh, _I mouthed.

_Would you like me to tell your mother? _Willowheart's eyes were gentle and kind, and I found myself agreeing before I could even sort out what was going on, or even place my thoughts in order. Willowheart nodded to me and left the den.

I was now alone in the medicine cats' den, my nose full of sharp scents of herbs and my ears hearing nothing. I flicked my left ear. They _were_ meant for something, but mine just sort of... sort of _sat_ there atop my head, refusing to work.

I wished that they did.

Suddenly, without any sort of warning - although there probably would have been a warning if I could have _heard_, I thought resentfully - Stormcloud stalked into the den and licked me roughly. Her lips were shaping words that I didn't understand, but was longing to hear.

_Hear... course... she can... mousebrained? _I only caught certain words, but it looked as though Stormcloud didn't want to believe that her youngest daughter was deaf. Then she looked straight into my eyes and mouthed sharply. _Come on. We're going for a walk._

She stormed out of the den despite Willowheart's obvious protesting, and I had no choice but to follow.

Stormcloud stopped at the nursery to grab Rainkit and Mousekit from their nests and announce to them, too, that they were going on a walk. I lingered behind my mother and shot my siblings an apologetic look. Their whining faces as they looked pleadingly up at Stormcloud told me everything.

Not looking back to see how her kits were coping, Stormcloud led us a little way out of camp, and then turned to them. _This is the moor, _she announced, indicating with a sweep of her tail the vast landscape before us. _You'll see more of this when you're warriors._

But I felt I had to interrupt. _But Willowheart said that I couldn't be-_

Stormcloud cut me off with a glare, and, judging from Rainkit and Mousekit's flinches, I guessed that she had made some sort of angry noise, too. Stormcloud whipped around to sniff at a clump of nearby heather.

Rainkit and Mousekit stared at Breezekit curiously.

_What do you mean, you can't be a warrior? _mouthed Rainkit.

_Are you going to be a medicine cat? _asked Mousekit.

I shook my head regretfully. I couldn't meet my sibling's eyes as I shaped simply, _I can't hear._

Rainkit and Mousekit's eyes grew round with shock, and Stormcloud stiffened. I blinked. Was it really that terrible?

_Mousekit... Rainkit... it's not- _I began to mouth, but Rainkit stumbled backwards in fear.

_Breezekit! _Run_! _she mouthed, tumbling over her words in her hurry, her eyes fixed on a point behind her sister.

Fur fluffing out in fear, I whipped around. I opened my jaws, my throat droning so much that it almost hurt. It was a noise... But the noise was wordless.

I screeched in terror as I saw the Twoleg and its monster.

**I know that that was a bit of a cliffy, which is odd in a series of oneshots, but the next one's going to be a sort of continuation, in a different point of view. Okay? Good. =thumbs up=**


	8. Chapter Eight: Max

**Thanks to xXShattered PeaceXx, WinterSky101, and Darkness of the Eclipse for reviewing! Now, I told you that this was a kind of contination... So, meet Mousekit, aka Max.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't. End of.**

Chapter Eight: Max

_Breezekit. Breezekit. Breezekit._ My heart beat violently against my chest as everything instinct I possessed screamed to run for it. But my sister... My _sister_ was being held by those Twolegs...

"Mousekit!" howled Rainkit as I made a running leap towards the Twoleg and sank my jaws into soft flesh.

"Mousekit!" my mother screeched, echoing Rainkit, before bunching her muscles and scrabbling up the Twoleg's spindly leg.

The Twoleg grunted in pain, and tried to shake me off, but I hung on with every mouselength of my being. All I could see was Stormcloud, trying to scramble up the Twoleg and reach me and Breezekit, and Breezekit herself, who was trying vainly to wriggle out of the Twoleg's strong grip.

Another smell hit my scent glands. "Rainkit!" I tried to yell, but my cry was muffled by the Twoleg's pudgy pink forepaw, which my teeth were still embedded into. A weight fell onto my back, and I unsheathed my claws, struggling to hold on.

"I'll get you out of here, Mousekit, I swear!" my black-furred sister growled in my ear, keeping a firm hold on me.

"Ouch!" I whined as she unsheathed her claws into my fur. "That _hurts_!"

"Well, how else am I meant to save you?"

"I don't know, but you _hurt_! Stop it!"

"Kits!" My ears pricked as Stormcloud's yowl reached them. I unsheathed my claws into a pink foreleg - the Twoleg cried out in pain - and twisted my head around. My jaws dropped open.

I had been too distracted to notice another Twoleg arrive, who had already grasped hold of Stormcloud and was roughly stuffing her into some sort of shiny web that was inside a roaring creature which I knew must have been a monster. It looked uncomfortable. _I don't want my mother to go in there!_

All thoughts of Breezekit banished, I shook Rainkit off my back. My sister fell to the ground with a disgruntled 'oof!'. I heard something crack. Rainkit began to wail.

"Rainkit!" I screeched, horrified that I had hurt her. I wanted to help her, but Stormcloud's Twoleg had already picked her up and crammed her into our mother's cage, with no regards for her evident injury.

With only me, stunned and not really trying to attack, holding him off, the Twoleg who I had hurt pounced upon the opportunity to get a firm hold of me by the scruff of my neck, like he was holding Breezekit. Breezekit had gone limp, as though she had fainted from sheer terror. I considered doing the same - maybe the Twoleg would let us go then - but as the Twoleg jammed Breezekit and I into another shiny web, and I met Stormcloud's eyes for a heartbeat, I knew that I couldn't.

I needed to stay alert for all of our sakes.

***

"Mother?"

I awoke in a dark, cold place. The shiny web was cold under my pads, and the scent of Twolegs and monsters were heavy in my nose. I could just about make out Breezekit's scent, but I couldn't smell Rainkit - or Stormcloud.

"Where are you, Stormcloud?" My mew was shrill with fear as I spoke into the darkness. All I could see was the faint outline of my younger sister, her white fur pale and almost glowing in the blackness. She was asleep, but I didn't worry about disturbing her.

When I tried to move forward a few pawsteps, my head made hard contact with some more of the web stuff. A little disorientated by my crash, I sat down heavily, blinking.

Just as I was thinking vaguely that it didn't really matter if I closed my eyes or kept them open, a loud bang made me jump up. Light suddenly flooded into the monster that we were trapped in, and I screwed up my eyes, half-blinded.

Daring to open them a crack, I saw that some lumbering Twolegs had entered the monster. They bent down over my web, and I flattened myself against the cold material, afraid. Suddenly, my web had been picked up by this Twoleg, who was swinging it by his side as he waddled, unconcerned for me and Breezekit.

"Whassgoin' on?"

I turned. Breezekit had evidently awoken. Her eyes were wide and scared, and she was crouched in a corner of the web.

"I'm not sure," I admitted. "But there are Twolegs, and I... I don't like it, Breezekit."

"I wa' Stor'clud," mumbled Breezekit in her slurred mew.

Squeezing myself next to her, I mewed, "I want Stormcloud too." I remembered what Breezekit had told Rainkit and I just before the Twolegs had appeared. "Um, Breezekit? Wh... what does 'deaf' mean?"

Breezekit turned to face me, her blue eyes staring into my yellow ones. "I can' hear anythin'," she mewed sorrowfully. "Thasswha' Will-a-har' said."

_That's what Willowheart said,_ I translated automatically. "You can't hear?" I asked incredelously, but before Breezekit could mew a reply, the front of the web suddenly opened.

Realising that we had ceased movement and that we had been placed on some sort of ground, I stuck my nose out and sniffed hopefully.

"Hello, kitties."

I jumped and crouched low as I heard a rough, gravelly mew from somewhere ahead. Somewhere in the gloom, there was another cat, I warned myself, and Stormcloud said that some cats are dangerous.

There was a rusty purr. "Come on, now, kittens! I'm not gonna hurt you. What good'd that do? We're all here together."

_It doesn't _sound_ threatening... And what else am I meant to do? _Cautiously, I placed my paws out of the web onto the hard ground, Breezekit following nervously. As I progressed forward slightly, a scrawny ginger tom swam into view. I could smell a strange scent.

"Who are you?" I meowed, trying to sound as warrior-like as possible.

"Who're you?" repeated Breezekit, her mew as indistinct as ever. "My name's Breezeki'."

The tom blinked. His eyes flickered to me. "What's wrong with your friend?"

"She's my sister!" I squeaked, whiskers quivering indignantly. "And there's nothing wrong with her!"

Giving another purr, the tom motioned with his tail for us to come closer. To afraid to disobey, I moved foward a few kittensteps.

"I'm Mousekit," I announced, attempting to sound braver than I felt. "And this is my sister, Breezekit."

"I would tell you my name, but I've forgotten it," admitted the ginger tom. "You forget everything in this place. Call me what you will." He drew his tongue over a forepaw.

"Forget everything?" I exchanged an alarmed glance with Breezekit. "No! I'm going to find my sister Rainkit, and our mother!"

Blinking sympathetically, the tom mewed in a hushed whisper, "That's what you think now. In a couple of moons you won't know who they are... The ones as young as you forget quickest."

Dread surged over me.

_No. No. No._

***

_Yes._

_Yes._

_Yes._

My name is Max. Life is good. I've lived in this Twoleg nest for moons. In fact, almost as long as I can remember.

I can only remember a little before this. Only... darkness. Somewhere black. Overwhelming. The scent of something I didn't like... and an old tom telling me and some other cat that we would forget.

Not wanting to forget. That's what I remember.

But I did. I did forget. Who were those cats? What was I doing before that? Where did I live? They're all mysteries to me.

There's a dreadful instinct that tells me that one or both of those cats are now dead.

When I thought I was undoubtedly right, I turned out to be wrong.

I forgot, but at times I wish I could remember.

**Confused? Yeah. You see, Mousekit and Breezekit were stuck in one of those awful catteries that nobody visits, while Stormcloud and Rainkit were shipped off to go and be the kidnapping-Twoleg's pets. By chance, somebody visited that liked Mousekit, aka 'Max', and Breezekit... Well... you know how her story ends :'(**


	9. Chapter Nine: Leaf That Falls From Tree

**Thanks to WinterSky101 and xXShattered PeaceXx for reviewing! This chapter's about another Tribe cat; this time, it's Mist/Stoneteller's sister, Leaf.**

**DISCLAIMER: _Cry me a river... cry me a river, oh... cry me a river... 'cause I don't own Warriors... cry me a river..._**

Chapter Nine: Leaf That Falls From Tree

Blood. Fur. Yowls of grief.

No, this wasn't the scene of a horrific battle. The Tribe of Endless Hunting forbid I should be wishing that my Tribe had been attacked, but even that would be a preferable alternative.

"Traitor!" hissed my fellow prey-hunter, Rain. Next to him, the cave-guard Brush drew back his lips in the beginnings of a snarl.

"N-no!" The grey she-cat we had surrounded looked bewildered. "No, Brush, please listen! It wasn't me, I didn't do it!"

Another cave-guard named Sun bunched her muscles as if she were going to attack. "Don't try and deny it, Mist. There's grey fur snagged in your claws, and look at the blood! A half-deaf kit would be able to tell that you killed him!"

I flinched as Sun spat at Mist. _Killed him..._ My head spun as I stared at my healer's body. Stoneteller had been the healer since before I had been born.

"Why would I want to murder the cat who was teaching me about everything?" Mist was nearly shouting at Sun, her mew strangulated by grief for her dead mentor. I wanted to go and comfort her, but the rest of the Tribe...

I winced at my own cowardice.

The tawny cave-guard tutted scornfully. "Be realistic, would you? You were never going to get away with this! Your ambition clearly blinded your loyalty to your leader!"

Mist's eyes widened. "_What_?" she breathed. "You think I would... kill... my... my..." She broke off, shaking her neat head disbelievingly. "I... Stoneteller was everything to me. How can you think this?"

"Easily!" Rain spat. He flicked his tail towards the grey she-cat. "Blood. Grey fur. A grey-furred cat. It doesn't take much to work it out."

"Any other cat can lead you! I don't care!" Mist sounded choked. "For the Tribe of Endless Hunting's sake, _listen to me_!"

I wanted to listen to her. I could tell that her plea was real. Maybe it was possible for me to have stopped them... I don't know. Even if I had known at the time that our Tribe would befall great hardship with no healer... But would they have driven me away, too?

I'll always be kept wondering. There'll always be that regret, no matter what happens next. I know that Mist was meant to become Stoneteller, and I know that she didn't kill. She would never have killed.

And I think that she thought that I, her sister, would have at least _helped_ when she was being forcibly dragged away by two of the strongest cave-guards in the whole Tribe. She probably wasn't expecting me to have just stood there, wordless, while she was driven from her life and everything that she had ever known.

The Tribe didn't realise how much of an act of betrayal I had committed. I mean, our father, Air, at least said _something_. True, "Don't, please, it's my daughter" was a little feeble, but at least he _tried_. Which was more than I did.

I'm sorry, Mist. Please, don't ever forgive me. Don't ever, ever, forgive me.

What I did, I won't forget.

**That was STUPIDLY short! Cyri, get your act together! Write some more! ...But Leaf doesn't seem to _need_ anymore, do you get what I mean? Hmm. Well, I'm afraid that'll have to do... Will be more updates! Watch this space... [-----------------] ...No, actually, do. It looks like it's changing size. Scaaaaaaryyyyyy...**


	10. Chapter Ten: Toadpaw

**Thanks to Darkness of the Eclipse, xXShattered PeaceXx, WinterSky101, and xXThunderspiritXx for reviewing! Remember Cedarpaw in _Wreaths of Smoke_? Yeah? Well, she had a brother...**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Warriors. I play with the characters. It's fun.**

Chapter Ten: Toadpaw

"He's so cute."

Cedarpaw's quiet mew fell in the stillness. Breezemist, the pale grey queen who had just given birth to her one kit, blinked up at the cream she-cat drowsily.

"Has he got a name yet?" queried Toadpaw, Cedarpaw's dark brown brother, who was peeping out from behind his sister.

Breezemist licked the tiny pale grey kit on the top of the head. "His name is Dustkit," she whispered, her mew tired but determined.

"He'll be a credit to his Clan," Toadpaw assured her. "He looks strong already."

"Thank you," murmured Breezemist, her blue eyes gazing affectionately at the newborn.

From behind Toadpaw, the medicine cat, Flowerwing, gave him a nudge. "Time to go," she murmured. "Breezemist needs rest." Toadpaw nodded and motioned to Cedarpaw, who gave the queen and her kit one last glance before bounding out of the nursery.

Shaking her pelt in the newleaf sunshine, Cedarpaw gazed up at the trees that grew around the edge of camp. "Dustkit's adorable."

"Definitely," agreed Toadpaw. "And he looks strong, too."

"You're just repeating what you told Breezemist," his sister teased, stretching out a paw and tapping his muzzle smartly, before capering over to the apprentice's den.

Twitching his nose where Cedarpaw had prodded it, Toadpaw hurried after her. "What makes you so cheerful?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Cedarpaw whirled around to face him, flicking her dark-tipped tail. "Greenleaf's on the way, there are new kits in the Clan, our bellies are full-fed, and there's no sign of a threat from any of the other Clans. I just feel like such a kit again!"

That was true, mused Toadpaw, watching Cedarpaw bat at a leaf like a three-moon old kit. Life did seem very safe at the moment. But still... "Don't you feel that it's almost a bit _too_ perfect?"

Cedarpaw rolled onto her back and stared up at him, narrowing her blue eyes against the sunlight. "How do you mean?"

The dark brown apprentice shrugged. "I just feel like a bit of adventure. Danger, romance... _something_."

"Alright, smarty-paws." Cedarpaw had jumped to her paws, eyes sparking with light. "You want adventure? Let's visit the Thunderpath."

Toadpaw almost fell over in shock. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. The Thunderpath. Bet you can't run across it."

"What about our mentors?"

"What _about_ them?" Cedarpaw's eyes had the familiar light of challenge in them. "Lighten up, you grumpy furball. It'll be fun!"

The challenge was too tempting to refuse. "Oh, come on, then." Toadpaw rolled his eyes at Cedarpaw's purr of delight, and the two of them dashed out into the forest.

***

Disgusted, Toadpaw wrinkled his nose. "It smells of crowfood!"

"Oh, be quiet. It's not nearly as bad as it could be." But Cedarpaw now sounded doubtful. Was she really going to carry out her plan of racing across the Thunderpath? Toadpaw wondered.

"So." Toadpaw broke the silence. It was unnaturally silent; there were no monsters within hearing.

"Dare you to run across it," Cedarpaw mewed, sounding a little scared.

But Toadpaw didn't like to back down from a challenge, even if it wasn't heartfelt. "Okay," he agreed, padding forward and placing one paw on the sticky Twoleg stuff. Taking a massive breath, he swivelled his ears to the left and right, and then hurtled across.

Panting heavily, Toadpaw realised that he was still alive. There had been no danger. He turned and twitched his whiskers at Cedarpaw, who was still on the other side. However, the fear-scent was gone, and her eyes gleamed.

"Dare you to run back!"

There was joy in the challenge this time; as Toadpaw barrelled into his sister, he purred. It was almost as though the monsters had decided to keep clear so that the two ThunderClan apprentices could enjoy their fun.

Soon enough, the challenges were flying between the two apprentices.

"Dare _you _to run across!"

"Dare you to _walk _across!"

"Dare you to tiptoe across!"

"Dare you to stay in the middle of the Thunderpath for five heartbeats!"

"Dare you to walk _up_ the Thunderpath!"

Eventually, when the sun began to set behind the trees, Toadpaw knew that cats would be beginning to wonder where they were.

"We'll have to go back to camp," he mewed regretfully.

"We'll come back, tommorrow, though?"

"You bet," agreed her brother enthusiastically. "This is the best fun I've had in a moon."

Cedarpaw nodded and turned to go back to camp, but Toadpaw couldn't resist setting one more trial.

"I dare you to walk across the Thunderpath _once_ more."

Turning back, Cedarpaw let out a purr.

"You're on."

**I shall leave the rest up to imagination, but... you all know that Cedarpaw _was_ dead in _Storm: Wreaths of Smoke_...**


	11. Chapter Eleven: Rook

**Thanks to World of Make Believe, xXThunderspiritXx, Darkness of the Eclipse, and Fioralba for reviewing! Yes, I know that I haven't updated in a while... _Ran_domly... Has anyone been watching the new Doctor Who? I love Matt Smith! I just want to huggle him! =huggles Matt Smith 'til he murders me and tells me to stop rambling about a completely different fandom= ...Now, the next cat I'm going to write about, we haven't actually met yet. Her name is Rook, and she's the mother of one of my more popular cats... That's right, she's Jay's mother! This is her story... (and beware of Dark, Angsty Jay)**

**DISCLAIMER: Let me think about that for a mome- _no_.**

Chapter Eleven: Rook

My son is a good cat. I know him well... with him being my son, and all.

So what I was wondering is this. _Why is he letting me die?_ I was there, lying on the Thunderpath, and my life was bleeding away. Agonisingly slowly, actually. I was in torturous pain, and I could hardly see through the haze of hurt.

But I wasn't just hurting on the outside. Jay turned away from me, and I felt like a sharp claw has pricked my heart. You know that there was that old she-cat's saying, _her heart sank_? Well, mine kind of... popped. I could almost feel its beats dulling as my heart became as useless as the Thunderpath beneath me.

Maybe he thought I was already dead. Perhaps that's why he refused to help me... "Jay?" I tried calling out, hating how croaky my mew sounded. I coughed. Blood spurted out of my jaws, and my throat felt raw. "Jay!"

Still, the black and white tomcat did nothing. He stared at me with hard, unblinking eyes. Eyes that clearly said, _I'm going to let you die here. I am._

"Please!" I begged, feeling myself grow weaker. I trembled. "What have I done?"

I thought that he hadn't heard. I assumed that he hadn't, or that he just wasn't going to answer. Closing my eyes, I braced myself for death - before Jay's voice sparked me back to my senses.

"This is the first time you've let me out of the barn in my whole life!" my son spat bitterly. "_Thirteen moons_ I lived in that place!"

I flinched, because I knew every word he spoke to be true. His mew pierced me like an adder's bite. "Yes... it's true, I know that. But Jay, it was so dangerous, and your _father_-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Jay's yellow eyes suddenly burned fiercely.

Weakly, I raised my head. "I was trying to protect you," I rasped. "Why can't you see that?"

"Why couldn't _you_ trust me?" The black and white tom shot back. "I'd have been careful, I'd have been fine, and you _never_-" his voice darkened as he let out a growl, "-_never_ decide what I need to know, do you understand?"

Jay was beginning to scare me a little. "But... but I'm your mother! Doesn't blood mean anything?"

"Yes! My father mattered, too!"

"I was going to tell you!" I mewed desperately. My argument suddenly lost its momentum and became weak; pathetic, even. "I just... I just didn't know the right words..."

"That doesn't mean you should have _lied_! The Thunderpath! _He did not die on the Thunderpath_!"

"I know that!"

"Then _why_?"

I let out a whimper of pain and sorrow. I couldn't mew a word.

_"Can't catch me!" the black and white tom teased, springing lightly through the forest. His paws didn't seem to touch the ground._

_Racing to catch up with him, I started to pant. "Okay, you win this round," I allowed. "But I'll _get_ you next time!"_

_"I'm sure you will," my mate purred, humouring me, before pouncing on my back, flipping me easily, and battering my soft belly fur, claws safely sheathed._

_Batting his paw away playfully, I purred. "Get off me, you great furball. You weigh-"_

_But the end of my sentence never came. The black and white tom had stiffened, and I could tell from the alarmed gleam in his eyes that something was amiss._

_"What's wrong?" My mew was hushed, and I wasn't sure why. The black and white tom made no reply except to press his forepaws on my belly, hard enough to feel._

_"What is that?" His meow was harsh, and for the first time, I felt afraid. "What can I feel?"_

_"I meant to tell you..."_

_"What is it?" My mate dropped onto all four paws and stared at me. I flipped onto my belly before standing and facing him. My paws kneaded against the ground as I mumbled the words._

_"I'm expecting your kits."_

_"_What_?" __I scrambled backwards in fright as the black and white tom screeched, eyes flashing frighteningly. __"My _kits_?"_

_"Um, yes." His reaction was unexpected to me. "...Aren't you... pleased?"_

_"_Pleased_?" he repeated in a growl. He stalked, lightfooted, up to me, and pushed his muzzle in my face. "You are _not_ my mate, Rook."_

_Gasping in pain, I stumbled over a tree root and fell. "Wh-what do you mean?" I whimpered, gazing into the face of the cat that I thought had loved me._

_The tomcat flinched away, not meeting my eyes. "I've got to go," he murmured. His voice was surprisingly soft, as though he regretted his outburst._

_"Where?" I had to ask._

_"I'm meeting Lily."_

_My voice cracked. "Wh-who's... Lily?" I dreaded the answer, but I had to ask the question._

_"Lily... is my mate."_

The memory still stung me, and I winced as I lay there. The blood was pooling around my wounded leg, giving off a nauseating tang. I tried to shut off my smell senses, afraid that I would faint from the dizzying scent of my own blood.

"You see?" Jay's mew was brusque and cold. "You can't even answer me."

"Jay-" I croaked, but my son cut me off with quite an alarming yowl.

"No! Just be quiet, you foxhearted _liar_!" he spat, back arched and fur spiked. "_No cat has anything to say to me today_!"

It wasn't just his tone that made me recoil. _He sounds so much like his father_, I thought inwardly, not taking any pleasure from the thought.

The sticky blood was beginning to dry my fur into ungroomed, matted clumps. "Jay, do you have any... remorse... at all?" I whispered, knowing that even if he had a change of heart, he could not save me now.

Jay unbended his spine, and his fur lay flat on his shoulders. Slowly, he turned away from me, and stepped forward a few pawsteps. For a heartbeat, I felt a pang of jealousy that his leg was undamaged and not bleeding. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I almost missed what he mewed, almost silently.

"Goodbye, Rook."


	12. Chapter Twelve: Dawn and Flash

**Thanks to World of Make Believe and thunder for reviewing! More anguish on the way, I'm afraid... Why can't I write happy 'Ones They Left Behind's?**

**DISCLAIMER: Please don't sue me. I have no money.**

Chapter Twelve: Dawn and Flash

The Nofur gave a harsh cough as it poured out the hard pellets for the two smoky grey cats to eat. Dawn gave an anxious, fretful mew, her blue eyes round as she gazed up at the pink-skinned creature.

Her brother, Flash, blinked worriedly, ignoring his food for once. The Nofur had been very ill for a while, and once or twice the two cats had seen what might have been classified as the Nofur medicine cat, or whatever they called them in those 'Clans', entering the Nofur nest.

Dawn suspected that the Nofur had the Nofur version of greencough. Its usually-pink skin was pasty and its eyes, Dawn could see when she peered into their watery grey depths, were bloodshot.

Mewing a few words of reassurance that Dawn didn't understand, the Nofur put out a pudgy forepaw and stroked her well-groomed back. The she-cat purred instinctively at the contact, but the deep-rooted worry remained with her.

With a last rasping cough, the Nofur straightened from his stooped position of stroking Dawn and exited the barn.

"I'm worried."

Dawn turned. Flash was sitting nearby, tail curled neatly over his paws. He still didn't touch the food, and his amber eyes were troubled.

"Me too," admitted Dawn softly. "He's so _ill_. I can scent it even now..." She broke off to sniff the air again. It was true - the stench of sickness hung heavily over them like a dark cloud. Nofur sickness.

"Do you think that we could catch it?" Flash sounded alarmed, as though the thought had only just occured to him. But Dawn knew that this fear, at least, was unfounded.

She shook her head. "No. Just as Nofurs couldn't catch greencough, or many of our illnesses. We'll be fine... I hope," she added quietly. Dawn could tell that Flash hadn't missed the last two words, but she was grateful that he didn't answer.

There was silence for a few heartbeats. Dawn cast a glance out of the barn; the sun was setting, and the horses had been taken in to graze for the night. A solitary Nofur made its way across the field usually trampled by rock-hard hooves, casting a long shadow on the grass.

"The medicine Nofur is back," she commented, twitching her whiskers towards the Nofur and trying to keep her fear out of her mew. "It must be bad again."

Another long silence yawned between the siblings. Dawn knew that the same question was burning on Flash's mind that was on hers, but she didn't dare voice it.

"Dawn." Flash's meow was hesitant, and Dawn already knew what he was going to ask. She didn't meet her brother's eyes. "The Nofur... do you think... he'll... D'you reckon he'll d-"

"I wonder if any herbs could help the Nofur?" She knew that she had covered up Flash's last word badly - her voice was unnaturally high. But the question was genuine, she realised. Could the two cats possibly do anything...?

"Maybe..." Flash pondered the question, and Dawn deemed it safe to turn back to him. He had risen to his paws, and his tail was swishing from side to side helplessly. "I don't know..."

"It helps cats, doesn't it?" Dawn asked desperately. "I know where to find catmint. It's the best cure for greencough, and I think our Nofur's got something like it..." The smoky grey she-cat trailed off, blinking.

But Flash was shaking his head. "I don't think it'll work, Dawn..."

But now there was a fierce glint in Dawn's eye that had not been there a heartbeat ago. "I have to try." Her mew was low, and it was only then she realised what the Twoleg meant to her - it was a lot more than food and shelter.

Before Flash could discourage her any further, she was gone.

###

Letting herself in at the 'window' as Dawn knew it was called, was harder than she had imagined, especially with her jaws full of catmint. As she tried to resist biting down on the precious leaves, she attempted scrambling up the side of the den. But her claws refused to get a hold. Dawn wished that they made cat-height windows.

She heard a weak cough from inside, and the low murmur of a Nofur who wasn't Dawn and Flash's Nofur. _The medicine Nofur_, Dawn guessed. She pricked up her ears as her Nofur started having a scratchy coughing fit. It lasted about thirty painful heartbeats, all of which Dawn could do nothing but stand and listen. When the coughing finally died down to a quiet wheeze, Dawn felt a surge of determination. She _had_ to save her Nofur.

But wait... perhaps she didn't have to get in on her own steam.

Briefly spitting out the precious catmint, Dawn summoned up all breath, and let out a long, loud yowl.

There was a small scuffle from inside. A Nofur face appeared at the window. It murmured a few words - Dawn only recognised her own name - before a pair of forelegs appeared out of the window to pick her up. Quickly snatching up her catmint, Dawn let herself be lifted into the Twoleg den.

The place was dimly lit. When Dawn saw the Nofur up close, a jolt of alarm surged through her - he looked even more ill than she had imagined. But the medicine Nofur was giving her a disapproving stare, and, realising that she would have to wait to help her Nofur, she jumped down off the soft nest.

The period that the medicine Nofur stayed seemed, to Dawn, to last several lifetimes. It was pure torture for her not to chew the leaves and waste all of their juice. She stalked around the nest impatiantly, sniffing every corner to try and keep her mind occupied. She even went as far as to give the medicine Nofur a shallow scratch on its hind paw. This earned her nothing but a light kick, which she made clear that she did not appreciate.

When the medicine Nofur _finally_ took his leave, Dawn was sure that her namesake was not far off. She had to struggle to stay _in _the den at all - her Nofur almost tried to put her out again, before she pushed her nose into his furless face.

Looking mildly surprised, the Nofur let Dawn spit out the catmint onto the soft nest, and after much prompting and gesturing, eventually got the message that he was to eat it. But apparantly, he didn't know the extent of Dawn's healing skills, and merely shook his head. _Will I have to wait any more? _wondered the horseplace she-cat in frustration. _Fine. I'll make him eat it when he's asleep. He just doesn't know what's good for him, that's all._

Once the Nofur had clambered into his nest and dropped off, Dawn launched herself into action. She had secretly spied on some of the Clans' medicine cats a couple of times, and she thought she knew the right way to make a cat - or a Nofur - eat a herb when they were unconscious or asleep.

Dawn speared the herbs on her claws and extended her paw into her Nofur's slightly ajar mouth. Trying not to shudder with disgust, she stretched her forepaw down the Nofur's throat as far as it would go. When her paw would stretch no further, she sheathed her claws and retracted her paw.

Swiftly, she licked her fur the wrong way to get rid of the moisture from her Nofur's mouth. _Never again, _she vowed, slightly revolted by the idea of sticking a paw into a Nofur's mouth... _Which I've just done_, she reminded herself. _And now I have to do the next bit._

She massaged the Nofur's throat until she felt him unconsciously swallow. Only then did she breathe a slow sigh of relief. The catmint was inside him now. It could do its work.

As she curled up on the Nofur's faintly rising and falling chest, Dawn gazed out of the window at the star-filled sky. _Thank you, whichever stars watch over me and Flash. Thank you._

###

Flash yawned widely, stretching out his limbs. Dawn light was beginning to creep over the horizon. Noticing that Dawn hadn't come back, he wondered if her catmint mission had been successful. With a slight twinge of guilt, he wondered if he should have come with her.

As though in answer to his question, an eerie wail reached his sensitive ears from over near the Nofur nest. The wail made the fur on Flash's shoulders stand up. He recognised it all too well, and it did not bode well with him.

It was Dawn's wail, and it was the same cry she had let out when she and Flash's mother had died. And that could only mean one thing.

**:(**


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Chaos

**Thanks to Darkness of the Eclipse, WinterSky101, World of Make Believe, and xXThunderspiritXx for reviewing! Eek! I'm excited about this one. Villain POV? Me likey like.**

**DISCLAIMER: NO.**

Chapter Thirteen: Chaos

"Eyes of a deathberry. Deathberries will kill."

"Eyes of blood. Spilled blood will kill."

"Eyes of fire. Fire will kill."

"Eyes of red. Unnatural. They're _red_."

She shouldn't be so angry. They're her kin. Her sister; her cousins. She should forgive. She had resolved to forgive - and had made the resolution many times before. For every time they spoke of her eyes, the fury welled up inside her regardless of what she had promised herself.

Firstly, Chaos lost forgiveness, because there was no point in forgiving... Not when the same thing happened every day.

She shouldn't have disappeared to the Shining Rock so often. But she did. To escape Leopard, Tiger, and Lion - and especially to escape Serenity. Lately, she had been noticing that even her own parents, Ice and Song, had been giving her some distrustful looks. And her aunt would never worry about where she'd gone - it wouldn't be at all surprising if Star wanted her dead.

But the starry cats that appeared now and again did not seem to judge her like that. Sometimes she considered them her only friends. They never talked, but sometimes a huge oak-furred tom rested his muzzle on her head. She told her sister about them once, but she just purred scornfully and tossed her head.

One day, that all changed. One day, one of the starry-furred cats spoke to her. He was a small tom. Black and white. Only about her age, if not slightly older - she had seen him before. He touched his nose to hers - but something sparked in his eyes when they met hers. He flinched back as though he had been clawed.

"That's not natural," he hissed at her. His mew was low, and his eyes were narrowed. "Red eyes... you can't be like that. You can't _possibly_ be a _real cat_." And he was gone before she can protest. Was it _fear_ that she glimpsed in his eyes?

Secondly, Chaos lost faith, because the cats with stars in their fur treated her like any other cat did... Like she was _different_.

There were days where she prayed to anyone that cared listen to change her eye colour. If she could have one day woken up and found her red eyes replaced with green ones like Leopard, or amber like Tiger... There was nothing that she wouldn't have given.

Green eyes seemed to be accepted. But then, green things were always associated with good. Green like the trees - the lush green leaves that hung on trees far over the horizon. A greener forest meant more prey. More prey meant a healthy life. Yes, green was a good colour. Leopard was lucky.

Amber. Another colour that was perfect for cats' eyes. But, again, amber was striking. Amber was the colour the moor turned when the sun was setting over it. The sky turned that colour, too, and that was one of the rare times that took her breath away with the sheer happiness that she felt, and the beauty of it all. Eyes that were amber were stunning. Tiger was lucky.

And yellow, too. Yellow was the colour of the sun that warmed cats' fur and brought the prey out to bask. The moon was sometimes yellow - mostly white, but sometimes yellow. Yellow was delicate, she seemed to find, and yellow was always strongly fused with happiness in her mind. Yes, Lion was lucky.

So, what of blue? Blue was rare for an eye colour, but it seemed to be rare in a good way. Why was red rare in what seemed to be a bad way?

The sky was blue, she remembered. The sky could be the most picturesque shade of blue, with just a few puffs of snowy white cloud obscuring it. On sunny days, the blue sky seemed perfect. So, on those grounds, Serenity was incredibly lucky.

But red... When she thought of red, she thought only of bleak things. Fire that could burn and singe. Blood that flowed in a sticky red river. Deathberries that poisoned and killed in heartbeats. Red was the colour of hate - of _anger_.

She wanted to change so desperately. With the passing moons, she looked into puddles of fallen rainwater more frequently, hoping that her wish would have been granted.

It was all in vain. Her eyes stayed red. Crimson. Scarlet.

Thirdly, Chaos lost hope, because however hard she wished, what she wanted would never be given to her.

Afterwards, she didn't visit the Shining Stone as much as she used to. But she did go every so often, if only to escape her siblings. But she did not sleep near the stone, and she often unsheathed her claws and unleashed some of her pent-up anger on the side of the stone cavern. Soon enough, deep gouges appeared there. She did not forget the fear in the star-furred tom's eyes when he had seen her scarlet ones.

She hated the days where she was forced out of her recluse by Song, Ice, and Star to 'play' with her cousins and sister. Knowing full well that they did not want to play with her, she always maintained a stony silence. But after her encounter with the black and white tom, she couldn't help wondering if they, too, were afraid.

When they begged her to play, eyes glittering with cruelty, she finally agreed. Just the once. They made her bury her head in her paws and count one hundred heartbeats, and then find them. Obediently, she did what they said, just glad that they were ignoring the colour of her eyes for once.

For what seemed like moons, she searched every bush and every crevice in the mossy moorland area that they were always sent to 'play' in. The sun was low in the sky before she set off back to the Shining Stone, dreading what she would tell the parents.

The four of them were there already. It was clear that they had been there for hours. Laughing. At her.

After a harsh rebuking from Song, she disappeared into the cavern again. Scraping a new mark in her fury. Their betrayal.

Fourthly, Chaos lost trust, because trust was impossible to reciprocate when no cat trusted her.

It was all she could do not to just press her nose against the stone and fall asleep again. The tomcat's _fear_... She knew that it would make her feel better to feel more powerful than some cat. To impose a terror on them.

She felt a stranger now. There were no starry-furred cats to greet her, and she was forced to skulk in the shrubbery. Listening. Eavesdropping.

"...just not sure what we're going to do with this life now that all the leaders are gone, Oakheart." It was a white she-cat, and she was meowing fretfully. The oak-furred tom bowed his head.

"We shall just have to keep it under supervision until we find a cat - perhaps a loner, or a rogue - who is worthy of it."

She didn't know what made her do it. Perhaps it was the idea that that life was... well, just that. A _life_. Another one, in which she could have cats ducking their heads, trembling in submission before her. Maybe that was what she wanted. But she did it. Racing out of the bushes, she pushed the oak-furred tom out of her way, opened her jaws wide, and swallowed the bright, shining light that the three cats were crouched around.

Lastly, Chaos lost love. She hardly knew the meaning of the word in the first place.

The light was like a star. A new life. And she intended to use it.


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Leopardheart

**Thanks to xXThunderspiritXx, Darkness of the Eclipse, World of Make Believe, Fioralba, and WinterSky101 for reviewing! And yes, Fioralba, the black-and-white furred cat was indeed Swiftpaw. If you flounder around in _Storm: Frosty Skies_ a bit, Oakheart does mention that he was one of the cats that stayed behind. Speaking of Fioralba... you were the one who suggested this character. Another villain. =happy=**

**DISCLAIMER: I didn't last chapter, so what makes you think I own Warriors today?**

Chapter Fourteen: Leopardheart

It was not my fault.

Yes, that's the truth. Alright, so that may seem like I'm pinning the blame on some other cat, and perhaps that's true. I'm not _totally_ innocent.

Okay, then. It was _partly_ my fault.

But upbringing is crucial. You have to agree with that. Kits learn everything from their parents, just as I learned everything from mine. Oh, I'm not saying that my parents were _bad_ cats - no, Mossears was perfectly sweet to me. She taught me what was good manners and how I should ask _politely_ for the elders to tell me a story, and how to listen to my mentor once I became apprenticed.

However... I can confirm that there there are other ways to neglect a kit than leaving it to starve in a snowy forest.

Ravenstar was our Clan leader. He became our Clan leader not long into my kithood, and even at three moons I could understand that such an esteemed member of the Clan would hardly have a great deal of free time to spend with a kit. But what I didn't expect was my mother to then have another litter. I didn't know who the father was - I still don't - but Mossears did say that it wasn't Ravenstar.

So Brightkit and Robinkit weren't Ravenstar's son and daughter. I was secretly pleased about this at first - _I _was the daughter of the Clan leader, not them. That was before things started to get out of control.

Yes, Brightkit - Brightpaw when she was apprenticed - was good fun. She made up good games, she was funny and friendly, and she had little quirks that made every cat purr. Not to mention that she was a very gifted hunter and fighter, with a young, strong, respected mentor. Every cat secretly knew that she was set to be our next Clan leader, even very early in her life.

And I was her best friend. Cats started comparing to us to the Firestar-and-Greystripe duo, only now it was Brightpaw-and-Leopardpaw. It didn't take long for me to realise that any credit I got would be from Brightpaw. Leopardpaw, the bit on the side. I wondered if Greystripe had ever felt like this - as though he would never be able to stand on his own four paws.

That wasn't the worst of it, though. The worst part was the way Ravenstar thought that Brightpaw was a gift sent from StarClan. Brightpaw this, Brightpaw that. _Brightpaw caught two fish this morning, did you hear? She's shaping up to be a fine hunter._

Wasn't he proud of _me_? For StarClan's sake, I was his _daughter_. Surely there was something in the warrior code about not neglecting your kits? As in, _A warrior shall not neglect his daughter, even if his daughter's best friend is brilliant and every cat knows she will lead the Clan one day_?

Once, I heard Sandshadow - my mentor - asking him how he thought I was getting on. My heart soared for a heartbeat - would he say that I could be made a warrior? Would Ravenstar finally notice me?

My happiness was short-lived. The Clan leader blinked in confusion, as though he didn't even know who I was.

"Mousebrain!" growled Sandshadow, seeming to forget that she was speaking to her Clan leader. "Your daughter?" she prompted.

Recognition sparked in Ravenstar's eyes. "Oh!" he gasped, guilt flooding into his expression. "Y-yes, she and Brightpaw are getting on very well."

I remember my throat burning with upset - and anger. _She and Brightpaw_. It was always going to be me and Brightpaw. Never just 'Leopardpaw' on my own. It could be 'Brightpaw' on its own - of course it could! But the word 'Leopardpaw' had to be twinned with 'Brightpaw' somewhere in the same sentence.

Another cat's shadow is a cold place to grow up.

Especially when your own father hardly acknowledges your existance.

**Aaaahhhhhhhh family trees of freakiness! Listen, _I_ didn't even realise that Leopardheart and Robinleaf were half-siblings! This is what comes of not having enough queens in a Clan. And, I know that that was rather short. But... hopefully it was okay. _Hope_fully.**


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Brightflame

**Thanks to World of Make Believe, Darkness of the Eclipse, and Fioralba for reviewing! Well, Fioralba suggested this chapter, and it is, yet again, another villain which I will be sob-storying! Bring on the evil laughs!**

**DISCLAIMER: What kind of published author do I look like to you? Well, not that you can _see_ me... =becomes suspicious= Or _can_ you?**

Chapter Fifteen: Brightflame

_So this is what it feels like to die._

When Brightflame thought about it too hard, it made her head spin. If she had ever thought about dying before, she would have liked to go struck down in battle, perhaps leaping in the way of a death blow to protect a Clanmate. She would have also quite liked to have lost eight lives before she joined StarClan, not to mention she would have felt proud to hold the name of 'Brightstar' before death.

But this... this was entirely different! Leopardheart would have been one of the few cats that Brightflame would have jumped in front of that death blow to save, perhaps as her deputy in future moons. However, Brightflame would have never, _never_ even considered the possibility that it would be her friend that would strike the killing swipe.

Yet it was _happening_, right before her eyes, Leopardheart's features twisted in anger as she unsheathed her claws into Brightflame's neck agonisingly slowly. It was as though the sand-coloured she-cat wanted to drag out Brightflame's death, make her feel _pain_.

And what was it that she had said? _I'm tired of always coming second to you._ That wasn't true, was it?

Bile rose in Brightflame's throat as she realised that it _was_. She had been so caught up in the whirlwind of her own brilliance that she had failed to see that Leopardheart had never recieved the same praise. Leopardheart had always been standing there, loyally, one pawstep behind. But how loyally was it _really_?

The truth was ugly, and Brightflame didn't want to look any more.

She flinched away from her 'friend', trying not to struggle - it would only make Leopardheart sink her claws in deeper. And that was when she saw what looked like a gift sent straight from StarClan. His fur illuminated by the weak sunlight, he looked almost like a spirit already, face oddly calm.

"Robinpaw! Help me!" Brightflame tried to yowl at her brother, but it came out as a choking rasp.

A flash of indesicion flared in Robinpaw's eyes.

_No... I'm not as bad as all that, am I? _The black-and-white she-cat's eyes widened in fear. Was Robinpaw really going to stand by and watch as she was murdered? He couldn't, could he? After all, Brightflame _was_ his sister, and he was a _medicine cat_, for StarClan's sake!

"R-Robinpaw?"

Brightflame darted her eyes back to Leopardheart just in time to hear her snarl, "Now, Brightflame, prepare to meet StarClan!"

A hiss of pain that Brightflame suspected was hers - a trail of crimson blood. It was over. It was too late, and Leopardheart's claws were ripping deeper into Brightflame's flesh...

The black-and-white warrior let out a screech of pain as she felt Leopardheart slash her claws _across_ Brightflame's neck - great StarClan, was she trying to shred her?

But no. Brightflame was aware of a pulse of relief and joy jolting through her as a weight was lifted off her throat. She opened one eye a slit to see Robinpaw nipping at Leopardheart's pelt.

"Go!" he yowled to Brightflame. She didn't need telling twice - the black-and-white she-cat stumbled away, retching.

The sight of the blood still dripping from her neck made Brightflame feel ill. Somewhere instinctively inside her, she knew that it was too late.

_So this is what it feels like to die, _she repeated to herself.

A sense of grief rose inside her - not for her own life, but for the past moons. She had spent her time ignoring Robinpaw and bettering Leopardheart, so much that one was willing to kill her and the other had doubts about saving her from those very claws.

Yet, Robinpaw had _still_ saved her. _Blood is amazing_, Brightflame reflected, coughing up a few clots of it. It dawned on her what a remarkable cat her brother was - despite Brightflame and Leopardheart's constant bullying, he had still managed to follow a medicine cat's path.

_Oh, great StarClan, I'm sorry!_ Brightflame raised her eyes to the skies, regret making her already-raw throat burn.

"Brightflame?" the whisper reached Brightflame. Her ears twitched.

"Robinpaw, I'm sorry," she blurted out, although it came out as more of a croak.

"Brightflame! Oh, Brightflame, you need help! Wait here, and I'll go and get some cobwebs!" Robinpaw made as though to dash off, but Brightflame shook her head.

"No," she replied scratchily, albeit firmly. "Robinpaw, I made your life a misery, and I'm sorry." Although it was barely audible, her mew was so chafed, emotion choked her. "A medicine cat... is a good path..."

"Brightflame, don't die!" begged Robinpaw. "If you die... I'll never forgive myself..."

Brightflame could have wailed at his easy forgiveness. "Don't worry..." she rasped by way of assurance. "Just... Leopardheart... It wasn't your fault, Robinpaw..." He had to know... _Understand_... Brightflame hadn't ever meant for any of it to end up like this!

"Brightflame!"

_Too late._

###

"StarClan?"

Brightflame whispered the word before she was even fully conscious. The next thing she became aware of was that the pain in her throat was gone. Her ear twitched. Running water - she could hear it.

"Wow... starry paws. That's new." Brightflame managed a small purr as she opened her eyes and gazed down at herself. Glancing around, she noted that she had landed herself in a twilit forest clearing, a star-filled stream gurgling close behind her.

Then came the memories. Blood - anger - Leopardheart. Robinpaw. The force of emotion slammed into Brightflame like a monster rushing past, and it was all she could do not to bury her head in her paws and yowl.

"Oh, great StarClan! I'm... _dead_." Closing her eyes, Brightflame tried to let this sink in for a couple of heartbeats. She almost jumped out of her fur when a voice mewed her name.

"Brightflame."

Eyes snapping open, Brightflame tripped over her own paws and just missed the stream as she spotted a white-furred she-cat standing serenely before her.

"Are you StarClan?" Brightflame's mew started off as a whisper and ended on a squeak.

"We are both StarClan," the white she-cat responded, blinking her blue eyes slowly. "I am Whitefur, formerly of RiverClan, Brackentail's mentor, Icefeather's..." she hesitated for a heartbeat, before plunging on, "...Icefeather's mother, and here to guide you into our Clan."

Straightening her head, which she had just realised was tilted, and snapping shut her jaws, which she had suddenly found out was open, Brightflame mewed, hardly able to believe it, "StarClan has forgiven me?"

Whitefur flicked her whiskers. "Certainly," she replied. Her expression grew stern. "We know what you have done, Brightflame. StarClan is not so oblivious as your Clanmates. But your grasping of the situation, and your repentance, just before your death, was enough. Most of StarClan are willing to allow you into our ranks."

"Most?" Brightflame had not missed Whitefur's careful skimming around a certain subject.

A trace of worry graced Whitefur's eyes, but it was gone in a heartbeat. "You have been chosen for a most tedious duty, Brightflame. No cat ever wants..." She trailed off, eyes clouding. Flicking her tail, she mewed, "Just take a look in the stream."

Hesitant with a strange fear that had gripped her, Brightflame turned slowly to look at the stream. An image had appeared on the sun-dappled surface. As the water surged and rippled, the image flowed and changed shape.

Brightflame's eyes widened. She stumbled backwards and would have barrelled into Whitefur, had the starry medicine cat not nipped out of the way at the last heartbeat.

"I can't do it!" she cried, fur fluffed up so that she looked almost twice her size.

"You must," pressed Whitefur gravely. Her gaze flicked to the stream's last picture, and Brightflame's breath hitched in her throat as she caught a brief glance of a tortoiseshell-and-white shape lying motionless, fur matted with sticky red blood.

Brightflame squeezed her eyes closed as Whitefur's words rang out through the clearing. She had only just died - this was too much to bear!

"You must be the one to foretell Robinpaw's death."


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Onekit

**Thanks to World of Make Believe and Fioralba for reviewing! Well, I think that this character is very interesting... not least because he's a kit. As a brief reminder; Rainstorm and Foxbramble found out about the illness in ThunderClan and helped their cats. Thanks to World of Make Believe for suggesting Onekit.**

**DISCLAIMER: Yeah but no but yeah but no but yeah but no but ye- I DON'T OWN WARRIORS.**

Chapter Sixteen: Onekit

The world is cruel. This much I have discovered, and I have only lived for a few days.

I know only my mother's scent, the scents of my littermates... and the smell of the illness that plagues me.

I've no idea what it's like not to have this constant taste in my mouth - to me, that taste is the norm. Every now and again, to feel my throat close up so that I can't breathe. Nameless, faceless medicine cats stuffing bitter-tasting herbs down my throat to try and revive me. Constantly floating somewhere consciousness and unconsciousness.

That's me. Writhing around in my nest, cramps squeezing my belly, vomiting up the herbs that the medicine cats give me every five heartbeats. No cat has even bothered to move me away from my mother and my littermates - if there was a safe place to move _them_ to, they would have gone already. And somehow, I think that my mother refuses to be moved.

I have no idea whether my littermates are as ill as me. Actually, I have no idea of _anything_.

This makes me a little sad. Will I die having no idea what anything is? The world is cruel... but maybe I can lessen the cruelty slightly.

I twitch my ears... and I begin to _listen_.

Listening takes away from my pain slightly. Just slightly. Sometimes I can forget the spasms that rack my body and hear what other cats are saying. Soon, there is what seems to be a wealth of knowledge in my head. I know my mother's name - Longfoot. And she calls my littermates Molekit and Brownkit. They're not ill - I can hear them scuffling outside the nursery a lot of the time. My mother stays inside and murmurs to me, stroking her tail-tip along my flank. I appreciate it, even though I can now sense her fear.

And then I hear my name. My name is Onekit.

Names seem very important to cats. For example, I hear that I live in ThunderClan. I like the sound of it. It sounds strong and proud. Our leader's name is Mothstar. The medicine cat who cares for me and makes me eat the herbs that will supposedly 'heal' me is called Hawkeyes.

I begin to get a much better grasp of my surroundings. Even as my body grows weaker, my mind grows stronger. I am more aware of my surroundings, though I never speak.

Another kit has contracted the disease, though he is older than me and he has not got it as badly. His name is Thistlekit. Another cat - called Patchfoot - seems to be ill and feverish. Am I feverish? I hear Hawkeyes speak of it, but I can never be sure what my own symptoms are.

Through my listening, I find out more things. Hawkeyes is worried for the future of ThunderClan. I have been moved to the medicine cats' den. Mothstar isn't going to mention our weakness at the Gathering... whatever a 'Gathering' may be.

I notice that I am not given herbs anymore.

All this talk of death... I start to begin to try and hear things outside of the camp. There's never really any sounds out there... except for once.

Something different. A different voice from above... but I can't quite catch what they say.

Two cats - she-cat and a tom. Why are they here? I don't recognise their mews. Have they come to help? I hope so.

This thought pleases me. I am off my guard... and at that heartbeat, the cramping in my belly starts again. I squirm. The pain mounts to an unbearable level. I forget everything - I even forget my own name. I feel as though there is a fire burning inside me, eating me from the inside out.

I scream.

I will some cat to help me. But I can't remember the last time I was given any herbs.

"No!" I recognise Hawkeyes' mew. He sounds horrified.

You _were the one who gave up on me! _I think furiously, this new emotion overtaking me for a couple of heartbeats. I understand now. The herbs were saved for the cats who had a chance of getting better.

But to be honest, it doesn't matter any more. The anger fades, and the pain fades with it. I welcome death. There is no torturous struggle to live there.

The cramps are gone. I can breathe easily. The taste has left my mouth. I feel comfortable, for the first time ever.

A voice calls to me, like water flowing over pebbles. "You are safe here, Onekit. Open your eyes."

I feel safer than I ever have.

"Welcome to StarClan, little ThunderClan kit..."


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Tawnystar

**Thanks to World of Make Believe and Fioralba for reviewing! Okay, unless I get any crazed reviews begging and sobbing at me to continue and write more, this'll be the last chapter (I'm not expecting any reviews like that O.o). I want to start _Torrent_, you see, and I have some strange phobia of having two stories running at once. So, suggested by World of Make Believe, this is the story of Tawnystar.**

**DISCLAIMER: Uh, no I do _not_.**

Chapter Seventeen: Tawnystar

One heartbeat, I was battling. Battling the other three Clans in some sort of all-out war. I was Clan leader - of course I didn't fear for my lives! I had eight to lose, so I was fighting twice as hard on behalf of my Clanmates and their single lives.

I had just about triumphed over the ShadowClan deputy, Redclaw. She was foolish to take me on - I let out a yowl of jubilation as I pinned her mottled tabby shoulders to the ground.

As I slackened my grip, meaning to let her go so that she could flee, defeated, a flying ball of fur landed squarely in the middle of my back, and did not hesitate to unsheathe thorn-sharp claws.

Letting out a hiss of frustration, I made as though to shake the small cat off my back - he looked no bigger than an apprentice - but the golden tabby tom clung on bravely.

"Let go of me, apprentice!" I spat in annoyance.

"Never!" he vowed, green eyes gleaming. "_No_ cat treats my mentor that way!"

In a flash, I realised that this must be Leopardpaw, Redclaw's apprentice. Once again, I shook myself as though I were emerging from water and drying my pelt, but Leopardpaw refused to let go.

Leopardpaw sank his teeth into my shoulder. I let out a howl of pain, and immediately noticed that something was wrong. It was only an apprentice's bite - it shouldn't have caused the agony that it did. I felt as though a LionClan cat had ripped out a great chunk of my flesh. The pain was unbearable. I sank to the ground and started squealing like a kit.

_What's wrong with you? _I scolded myself sternly. _You're behaving like you've just left the nursery - but my shoulder-_

Leopardpaw, who had ducked out of the way the heartbeat I hit the ground, looked disgusted. "Call yourself a Clan leader?" the ShadowClan apprentice spat. "Cloudstar would _never_ let himself be felled by an apprentice."

An eerie wail rose from the wave of battling cats. "Cloudstar is dead!"

The golden tabby tom's head whipped around, sudden fear glittering in his eyes.

But I heard none of this. My twitching had stopped, and my eyes had glazed over in death - and not just the loss of one life. There my body would lie, until Thistlepaw, Mousepaw, and Hazelpaw would come across me later and set off the alarm themselves.

One heartbeat I was fighting with eight lives in full strength, the next I was lying dead, killed by a ShadowClan apprentice.

###

"Right, well, I am very confused right about now."

"I'm afraid you're dead, Tawnystar." Mothstar blinked sympathetically at me, but I didn't want her sympathy.

"But I had eight lives! They can't _all_ have been taken by that puny little apprentice!" I wailed, fully aware of how whiny I sounded.

Next to me, Cloudstar drew back his lips. "Don't speak about my deputy's apprentice like that," he snarled. My hackles rose, ready to leap at the white tom, but Ashstar flashed out a paw.

"Stop this!" he hissed. "There must be no arguing in the presence of StarClan." He turned and dipped his head courteously to each Mothstar, Foxstar, Emberstar, and Fernstar - the four Clan leaders before Ashstar, Bramblestar, Cloudstar, and I.

The red-brown tabby, Foxstar, nodded. "You are all part of StarClan now," the former RiverClan leader mewed gently. "Your place has been left to your deputies to fill."

"But Spottedpath is so young!" I exclaimed. I couldn't help myself - I had just remembered how inexperienced the tortoiseshell she-cat really was.

Ashstar gave a brisk nod. "So is Wildheart," he added, looking worried.

"They will lead your Clans well," Fernstar assured us, a bite of impatience edging her mew.

"Are you sure Spottedpath will not lead ThunderClan to endless battle?" I fretted.

Fernstar gave a low growl. "If you did not think that she was able, then why did you choose her?"

Now it was my turn to snarl. "How dare you suggest that I cannot choose the right deputy for my Clan?" My eyes narrowed to slits. "And what worth is your opinion, anyway? _You_ were the _ShadowClan_ leader!"

The dark tabby she-cat spat in response.

"Don't you _dare_ speak to Fernstar in that way!" Cloudstar threatened, eyes flashing. "I served under her as deputy for many moons!"

"I'll speak to any cat any way I like that has the nerve to tell me who to choose as deputy!" I wouldn't usually have been so quick to fly into a temper, but I was still confused as to why I had died, and my confusion led to hostility.

Cloudstar's neck fur began to bristle, but before he could fly at me, Mothstar yowled, "_Quiet_!"

I forced my hackles to lie flat and turned to face my former leader. The tawny she-cat's eyes were flashing coldly.

"Redclaw, Wildheart, Spottedpath, and Ravenwing will all choose able and respected deputies," she began.

"Willowflame?" Cloudstar murmured hopefully. Bramblestar flicked his tail into the white tomcat's mouth, who glared at the former RiverClan cat but said nothing.

Mothstar continued as though she had heard nothing. "They will receive nine lives. They will take the names Redstar, Wildstar, Spottedstar, and Ravenstar, and they will lead their Clans for many seasons."

Emberstar, who had been quiet until now, raised his head. "All clear? Good," he mewed quickly, without waiting for a reply.

"Wait!" i spoke out boldly. The eyes of seven leaders all turned on me, and I felt a little like an apprentice under interrogation. "W-why? I don't understand. I still have eight lives. Why am I dead?"

The reply was snapped. "It was your time," Mothstar retorted unhelpfully.

"That's no answer!" I protested, but Mothstar had turned tail and fled, Fernstar, Emberstar, and Foxstar hot on her paws. "Wait!" I yowled. "Tell me! Why am I dead - why are any of us dead?"

As I turned back to the other three, defeat evident in my drooping tail, Ashstar sighed. "It's never going to be told," he whispered. "They won't tell us - not with that attitude."

Cloudstar and Bramblestar murmured agreement, but seeing how easily the other three leaders gave up had some effect on me.

"Why are you all just leaving it there?" I hissed angrily.

"Tawnystar-"

"No!" I shook Ashstar's tail away from my shoulders. "I _will_ find out what killed me," I vowed grimly. "Because it certainly wasn't that young apprentice."


End file.
